Pair Convicted of '86 North End Murder Denied Appeal

Two men convicted of a North End murder were denied an appeal on Tuesday. Louis Costa and Frank DiBenedetto had hoped new evidence would convince a judge to order a new trial, but Justice Barbara Lenk said the new evidence wasn't enough to warrant a third trial in the case.

“We have a solemn duty to follow the evidence wherever it leads, but the evidence in this case points only and inexorably to the defendants’ guilt,” said Conley, according to a Suffolk County District Attorney office statement. “These two men committed two callous executions in a city park. They were witnessed in those executions and they were identified not only by a person who knew one of the defendants by name but also by a stranger with no connection to the victims or defendants. They were convicted not once but twice. The facts are clear, the evidence is strong, and the interests of justice demand that these killers be held accountable for their crimes.”

Costa and DiBenedetto were found guilty in the 1886 executions of Joseph Bottari and Frank Chiuchiolo. The pair were killed in Slye Park (now Copp's Hill Park). The accused pair were convicted in 1988 but that ruling was overturned after jurors heard a recording of a witness who did not speak at the trial. They were convicted again in the second trial, held in 1994.

The defendants had hoped non-matching DNA on DiBenedetto's sneaker would be enough new evidence to warrant a third trial. But Lenk disagreed, saying the eyewitness testimony and other evidence given during the second trial.